Schloss Elmau

Schloss Elmau was built in 1916 by the Protestant theologian and philosopher Dr. Johannes Müller, with half the funding from Elsa Gräfin von Waldersee. The architect was his brother-in-law, Carlo Sattler. Müller conceived it as a free space for personal and communal life. He wanted guests to take a holiday from the self, in the silence of untouched nature and at evenings of classical music and dance. Music and dance have stayed part of the house ever since.

The setting is a wide, sheltered valley at 1,000 metres at the foot of the Bavarian Alps, between the Zugspitze and the Karwendel, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Streams run through it, and the Ferchensee and Ferchenbach feed the outdoor Nature Spa. Munich is an hour away.

The estate is now two hotels. The Hideaway has 100 rooms and suites. The Retreat, opened in 2015 on a hillside 150 metres to the west, has 47. It served as the residence of heads of state and government at the G7 summits of 2015 and 2022. Between them they hold six spas and nine pools, including heated outdoor infinity lap pools, a Hamam and a Japanese onsen pool. A concert hall, a bookshop and a jazz bar sit alongside, and Igor Levit is artist in residence for 2026.

The movement programme is broad. Johannes Mikenda, trained in New York by Sharon Gannon, leads the Jivamukti Yoga Center, which offers daily classes. The Annual Yoga Summit brings guest teachers from other styles, and the house describes its approach as yoga without dogma. Gaga retreats are taught with the choreographer Ohad Naharin and his colleagues. Medical Spa Director Dr. Imke König, who has practised Taijiquan and Qigong for more than 40 years, leads the Taiji, Qigong, TCM and Pilates work. Ice bathing, dance, tango and sport retreats fill out the calendar.